1924 Senate hearings to limit immigration (excerpt)

The Immigration Act of 1924 (The Johnson-Reed Act), which was signed into law on May 24, 1924, limited the number of immigrants allowed entry into the United States through a national origins quota. Restrictive immigration policies had already been in effect before this, but this Act put further restrictions into place, including the complete exclusion of immigrants from Asia. This excerpt from the Senate hearings on this bill includes the testimony of Valentine S. McClatchy, a leader of the anti-Japanese movement, who cited the supposed inability of the Japanese to assimilate to American culture and the economic threat they posed to white businessmen and farmers.

MLA citation:United States. Cong. Senate. Committee on Immigration. Japanese Immigration Legislation: Hearings before the Committee on Immigration, United States Senate, Sixty-eighth Congress, First Session, on S. 2576, a Bill to Limit the Immigration of Aliens into the United States, and for Other Purposes, March 11, 12, 13, and 15, 1924. 68th Cong., 1st sess. S. Doc. Washington: Govt. Print. Off., 1924. The Untold Story: The Internment of Japanese Americans in Hawai‘i. Web. [date of access]